''The Moon Is Down'' is a 1943 American war film starring Cedric Hardwicke and Henry Travers and directed by Irving Pichel. It is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, German soldiers occupy a small Norwegian town.

Cast

Sir Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of William Shakespeare, Shakes ...

as Col. Lanser * Henry Travers as Mayor Orden *

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

as Dr. Albert Winter *

Dorris Bowdon Dorris Estelle Bowdon (December 27, 1914 – August 9, 2005) was an American actress, best known for her role as ''Rosasharn'' in ''The Grapes of Wrath'' Early life Dorris Estelle Bowdon was born on December 27, 1914, in Coldwater, Mississip ...

as Molly Morden * Margaret Wycherly as Sarah Orden * Peter van Eyck as Lt. Tonder *

William Post, Jr. William Post Jr. (February 19, 1901 – September 26, 1989) was an American actor and drama instructor. He was sometimes billed without the use of "Jr." following his surname. Early life Post was born February 19, 1901, in Montclair, New Jers ...

as Alex Morden * Henry Rowland as Capt. Loft * E. J. Ballantine as George Corell *

Hans Schumm Hans Josef Schumm ''(né'' Johann Josef Eugen Schumm; 2 April 1896 Stuttgart – 2 February 1990 Los Angeles) was a German-born-turned- American actor, notably, a prolific and critically acclaimed Hollywood screen character actor who appeared ...

as Capt. Bentick * Frederic Brunn as German Soldier (as Frederick Brunn) *

Ernst Deutsch Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 – 22 March 1969), was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play '' The Son'' in Dresde ...

as Maj. Hunter (as Ernest Dorian) *

Ludwig Donath Ludwig Donath (6 March 1900 – 29 September 1967), was an Austrian actor who appeared in many American films. Life Born to a Jewish family, Donath graduated from Vienna's Academy of Dramatic Art and became a prominent actor on the stage i ...

as Hitler's Voice (as Louis Donath) * John Banner as Lt. Prackle (uncredited) *

Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s. Life and career Corey attended New Utrecht High ...

as Albert (uncredited) *

Ludwig Hardt Ludwig Hardt (16 January 1886 – 6 March 1947) was a German actor. Private life In 1913 he became the second husband of the painter Emmy Gotzmann. Filmography References External links 1886 births 1947 deaths German male ac ...

as Elderly Man (uncredited)

Production

The set of ''

How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...

'' was reused for this film.

Reception

Bosley Crowther, the film reviewer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', gave ''The Moon Is Down'' a mixed verdict. He lauded screenwriter Nunnally Johnson for creating a "clear and incisive screen version" of the book, resulting in "a picture which is the finest on captured Norway yet and a powerful expression of faith in the enduring qualities of a people whose hearts are strong." He also praised "Irving Pichel's superlative direction and a generally excellent cast". However, Crowther also observed that "the intellectual nature of this picture—its very clear and dispassionate reasoning—drain it of much of the emotion that one expects in such a story at this time."

References

External links

* * * * American World War II propaganda films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Irving Pichel Films set in Norway 20th Century Fox films Films based on works by John Steinbeck 1943 war films Films about Norwegian resistance movement World War II films made in wartime 1940s English-language films {{WWII-film-stub